iPhone Duo Pre-Orders Delayed Until January Amidst Record Demand

Apple's highly anticipated iPhone Duo is experiencing significant shipping delays, with pre-orders now extending until January. The foldable device, priced at £1,999, saw its initial stock deplete rapidly following the opening of pre-orders, leaving many customers disappointed with extended wait times.

Checks of Apple's website on the day of the pre-order launch revealed that the earliest shipping date for any model had shifted to January 22. This marks a considerable delay from the originally promised October 23 shipping date. Demand for the device was so high that every available combination of color and storage size was affected by shortages.

Customers expressed frustration on social media platforms, with one user stating, "Have to say worst pre-order of any phone I have seen in a while." Another criticized Apple's planning, commenting, "A trillion-dollar company like Apple should be better prepared to handle high traffic during iPhone pre-orders. Customers plan ahead and eagerly wait for launch day, only to face technical issues. This shows a serious lack of planning and infrastructure readiness. Very disappointing!"

Some early customers reported delivery estimates in November or December, but later orders were pushed back to late January. One user experienced their delivery date shifting from October 23 to November 9 while still in the checkout process, exclaiming, "Ordered Apple stuff for years never seen this happen."

Technical difficulties and website access issues were also reported by customers attempting to place orders. Many users described being unable to access the Apple Store website or app due to high traffic, with some experiencing delays of over 20 minutes. "The website was down for 4 minutes and wouldn’t let me in. Like.. wtf Apple! And because of that I need to wait till December?" one user lamented.

The high demand also impacted third-party retailers, with the O2 store reporting similar issues. Customers complained of being stuck in online queues and facing technical problems while trying to secure their pre-orders. O2 acknowledged the high demand, stating on X that "the new iPhone launch is seeing extremely high demand, which can lead to much longer wait times than usual and may make progress appear slower than expected."

The iPhone Duo features a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner folding display. It is available in two colors, Star White and Night Sky, with storage options ranging from 256GB to 2TB. Prices vary accordingly, starting at £1,999 for the 256GB model and reaching up to £3,199 for the 2TB version. The device is powered by the A20 Pro chipset and supports multitasking, allowing users to run different apps on each half of the screen. It also features a 48-megapixel main camera and supports the Apple Pencil, a first for an iPhone model. The device measures 11.3mm when folded and 5.2mm when unfolded.